Council puts brakes on fast-tracking bike network
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/council-puts-brakes-
on-fast-tracking-bike-network-431231623.html
COUN. Janice Lukes failed for a third time to convince a civic committee to
consider fast-tracking the construction of a protected bike network in
downtown Winnipeg.
Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) appeared before the public works
committee Tuesday with a proposal to have department staff prepare two
plans that could be considered for implementation in 2019 — one following
the approved piecemeal approach, the other following the fast-track method.
“Councillors would have two plans and they could decide, do they want to
support increasing safety in downtown cycling or do they want to continue,”
with the current plan, Lukes told the committee.
Lukes, who used to chair the public works committee until she was removed
fromthe post by Mayor Brian Bowman in early November, had pitched a
variation of the same concept twice before: in late November and again in
May. Each time, it was rejected.
Lukes had no better luck Tuesday, but it was close. Committee members voted
twice — once to reject the plan and a second time to approve it — and each
vote ended in a tie.
Winnipeg adopted a pedestrian and cycling strategy in 2015 that includes
the construction of 10 kilometres of bike trails throughout the downtown
area. City hall has only approved the construction of two kilometres of the
network but the plan is already behind schedule and that portion won’t be
completed until 2019. It’s projected it could take five to seven years to
construct the entire downtown bike network.
Lukes said Winnipeg should follow the examples set by Calgary and Edmonton,
which constructed entire downtown bike networks of similar distances using
temporary structures — low-profile concrete curbs, plastic bollards, paint
and decorative planters — in a matter of weeks.
Lukes told the committee the public works department has previously said
constructing protected routes using temporary materials was a practical and
cost-effective method.
Couns. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) thought
Lukes’ proposal was worth considering, while Couns. Marty Morantz
(Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge) and Matt Allard (St. Boniface) said the
city should stick with its current plan of incremental path construction.
aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca
* * * * *
Proposed downtown bike grid for Winnipeg gridlocked at city hall
Coun. Janice Lukes’ motion for a gapless network of bike lanes downtown
denied for third time
http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2017/06/27/downtown-bi
ke-grid-gridlocked-at-city-hall.html
*By:* Keila DePape For Metro Published on Tue Jun 27 2017
A motion to install a bike lane network downtown died (again) at city hall
Tuesday.
“It’s frustrating,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, who wanted the Infrastrucutre
and Public Works Committee to direct city staff to cost out a rapid install
of adjustable protected bike lanes.
“We know we can do something cheaper, better, faster—why aren’t we?”
Coun. Marty Morantz criticized the bike grid concept as a “dramatic”
departure from the “award winning” Pedestrian and Cycling Strategy (PCS)
council approved in 2015, which details active transportation
infrastructure plans across the city.
“If we decided to drop it (the PCS) and just do a downtown grid, projects
all over the city would be in jeopardy for a temporary structure that would
have to be made permanent at some point,” Morantz said, adding “adjustable
elements” are already included in the current strategy.
But that’s not enough for councillors who say a bike grid is key for the
city’s connectivity.
“We’ve already built some significant suburban routes that connect to
downtown,” said North Kildonan Coun. Jefff Browaty, who spoke in favour of
Lukes’ plan and the “final mile” connectivity it would offer. “That final
stretch to get to people’s offices where people work and play, that’s
what’s really missing right now.”
Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) sided with Browaty, saying she’d “like
administration to work on this,” and study it at least. But the fourth
committee member, Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) sided with Morantz,
questioning the merit in going for a temporary grid with a permanent plan
already on the horizon.
The committee’s 2-2 split on Lukes’ motion means a study to find out how
much the downtown bike network would cost won’t happen anytime soon in
Winnipeg. That's despite other Canadian cities offering a point of
reference and successful examples.
Edmonton introduced a $7.5 million bike grid plan in October and installed
seven kilometres of lanes within the same three-month period it took
Winnipeg’s public service to report on whether elements of that approach
fit the PCS.
Likewise, Calgary finished a 6.6-kilometre bike lane network within four
months for $5.45 million.
Lukes wanted the study to be included in the 2018 budget when she first
advanced the motion in October, but she adjusted her expectations when it
failed again in May.
Now, blocked in her third attempt Tuesday, the forecast for 2019 isn’t
looking good either.
Lukes said she will continue to fight for the bike grid, but doesn’t yet
know how to go about it at this point after being stymied at the committee
level.
“With this public works committee, I will not be able to make progress,”
she said.
Happy Bike to Work Day!
Next week, please join us as this party is going to go be spectacular.
All welcome, but please RSVP with link below.
Winnipeg meets Amsterdam for an evening.
You don't have to be a customer to try one or compete in the Dutch Slow
Biking Dinking (Doubling) Race or enjoy the music or have a beer and be
merry.
Kindly,
Anders
Plain Bicycle Party + Pick UpYou're invited to attend.
Dear new plain bicycle owner and friends,
The moment we’ve all been waiting for is here! The shipment has arrived
from the Netherlands. We are finally going to see them on the streets of
Winnipeg! The bikes survived their Atlantic journey, are being reassembled
for you right now and are eager to meet their owners. Join us for a party
to celebrate the achievement and pick up your bike. There will be live DJs,
storytelling, a dinking* race, and more. Invitation and details on the next
page.
A huge thank you to the bike owners for your support, enthusiasm and
endurance. For some, it has been almost a year and a half since you signed
up. This project was only possible because of your patience and
imagination. In buying a Dutch bike you are helping Winnipeggers (and North
America) catch a glimpse of what the future of transportation looks like.
Also a huge thank you to Torrin, Jan, Jamie, Mendert, Danny, Mikael, Fritz,
Bas, Erwin, Charlton, Jon, Dan, Herbert, Michel, Ian, Keilewerf, Local
Motion, Dave and The Forks crew, Give-A-Bike, Havensteder, Den Haag
Fietspunt, Winnipeg Trails and everyone else in Rotterdam, Utrecht,
Amsterdam, Den Haag and Winnipeg who helped make this possible.
Sincerely,
Leigh Anne and Anders
The Plain Bicycle Project
*PLAIN BICYCLE PICKUP PARTY*
Wednesday June 28th, 2017
pop-up patio at The Forks (near the Atrium) All Welcome
*Party:* 4pm-10pm; Bike Pickup: 7pm
*Suggested dress code:* Semi-Formal or Business attire
*Detailed Schedule:*
4:00pm: Registration begins (get your code)
4:30pm: Pre-event Media
5:30pm: The Plain Bicycle Story
A presentation about how the bicycles were collected, where they came from,
how to take care of them, how they can be used to help create an everyday
cycling culture, Q&A, etc.
7:00pm - Get the Keys to Your Bike!
(time at which you now officially own the closest thing to a magic carpet)
8:00pm - Group Photo
8:30pm - Slow Biking Race (Individual and Dinking*)
Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd courtesy Natural Cycle
Live DJs Music continue until 10 then the party moves inside to the Common.
Please go here to RSVP
<http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…>
(required).
Note: If you cannot attend on Wednesday, please use the RSVP form
<http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba…>
to
let us know so we can make arrangements. If you already talked to an
organizer about it, do it anyway. Please.
*not sure about this? Don’t worry. You’ll find out what this means when you
get here. :)
June 2017
28
RSVP required
<http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…>
<http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…>
FRIEND
ON FACEBOOK
<http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba…>
<http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…>
FOLLOW
ON TWITTER
<http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba…>
Jamie Hilland
Active and Safe Routes to School Program
Green Action Centre
3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue | (204) 925-3777 x103| Find us here
Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living.
Support our work by becoming a member. Donate at CanadaHelps.org
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <BSmiley(a)mpi.mb.ca>
Date: Jun 20, 2017 10:21 AM
Subject: MPI Cycling Media Event
To:
Cc:
*MEDIA INVITATION*
Dozens of cyclists will be gathering at The Forks to visually demonstrate
MPI’s new road safety campaign, involving vehicles and cyclists. The new
campaign: ‘*Please* *Leave Space to Breathe*” will encourage motorists to
leave 1-metre of space when passing a cyclist.
*WHEN*: Friday, June 23
11 a.m.
*WHERE*: The Forks Market
Boxcar by North West Entrance
Link to the site: https://www.google.com/maps/d/
viewer?mid=15CN-bcjJ_r_7-94loZJmKriCV5o&ll=49.887455438057884%2C-97.
13156190608214&z=20
*WHO*: Bike Winnipeg
Green Action Centre (Active & Safe Routes to
School Program)
Winnipeg Police Service
Manitoba Public Insurance
[image: cid:6592D6FE-6D93-4FBE-BEC9-031ADABA75B6]
For more information contact:
Manitoba Public Insurance
Media Relations Unit
204-985-7300 <(204)%20985-7300>
*** Friendly reminder about tomorrow's webinar and pop up protected bike
lane tour ***
Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local
viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar. RSVPs
appreciated but not necessary.
Should be especially interesting to hear from Calgary about collecting data
related to their downtown protected bike lane grid. You might want to
consider taking in the pop up protected bike lane tour in the Exchange over
the lunch hour and then join us for the webinar at 2pm.
Here are details on the bike tour but you can find more info on the project
here
<http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…>
:
Join other interested cyclists at Old Market Square for a lunch hour ride
to explore and discuss proposed design options for the
pop-up protected bike lanes in the Exchange District. Take part in the ride
and join the conversation and experience options to improve the existing
painted bike lanes on McDermot and Bannatyne.
This ride is part of the City of Winnipeg’s public engagement for the *West
Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*. Join us at Old Market Square, the
ride leaves at 12:00pm and will return by 12:30pm with some time for
discussion before you head back to work.
cheers,
Beth
* * * * *
*Beyond Counting: Putting the Data to Work for Better Planning and
EvaluationWed, June 21 | 2-3 p.m. CDT*
The June webinar will be an exciting panel! PeopleForBikes will discuss
their forthcoming network analysis tool. Its goal is to join policy with
politics, making it relatively cheap and easy for cities to locate the
weakest areas in their biking network — and, eventually, the easiest ways
to make the network better. The team from HDR and the city and county of
Denver, CO, will review several case studies and discuss how the outcomes
of a recent study helped inform future capital expenditures as well as
knowing the level of accuracy when reporting bicycle data sets and the
context in which specific vendor equipment performs best. Presenters will
discuss applying before and after data collection programs as part of a
pilot two-way cycle track project and being proactive in applying initial
data collection findings to tweak layout, designs, etc. They will also
discuss applying before and after data collection as part of permanent
installations to understand user experience, user understanding of new
technologies and apply those lessons learned to future design projects. The
City of Calgary will present and discuss their Center City Cycle Track
Network Pilot.
*Presentation Panel:*
- Jennifer Boldry, People for Bikes
- Rick Plenge, P.E., PTOE - HDR
- Dan Raine, Denver, CO
- Ryan Martinson, Stantec (Calgary)
- Katherine Glowacz, City of Calgary
--
*Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre
<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/>
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
Green Action Centre is your green living hub
Support our work by becoming a member
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at
CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>
Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local
viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar. RSVPs
appreciated but not necessary.
Should be especially interesting to hear from Calgary about collecting data
related to their downtown protected bike lane grid. You might want to
consider taking in the pop up protected bike lane tour in the Exchange over
the lunch hour and then join us for the webinar at 2pm.
Here are details on the bike tour but you can find more info on the project
here
<http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…>
:
Join other interested cyclists at Old Market Square for a lunch hour ride
to explore and discuss proposed design options for the
pop-up protected bike lanes in the Exchange District. Take part in the ride
and join the conversation and experience options to improve the existing
painted bike lanes on McDermot and Bannatyne.
This ride is part of the City of Winnipeg’s public engagement for the *West
Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*. Join us at Old Market Square, the
ride leaves at 12:00pm and will return by 12:30pm with some time for
discussion before you head back to work.
cheers,
Beth
* * * * *
*Beyond Counting: Putting the Data to Work for Better Planning and
EvaluationWed, June 21 | 2-3 p.m. CDT*
The June webinar will be an exciting panel! PeopleForBikes will discuss
their forthcoming network analysis tool. Its goal is to join policy with
politics, making it relatively cheap and easy for cities to locate the
weakest areas in their biking network — and, eventually, the easiest ways
to make the network better. The team from HDR and the city and county of
Denver, CO, will review several case studies and discuss how the outcomes
of a recent study helped inform future capital expenditures as well as
knowing the level of accuracy when reporting bicycle data sets and the
context in which specific vendor equipment performs best. Presenters will
discuss applying before and after data collection programs as part of a
pilot two-way cycle track project and being proactive in applying initial
data collection findings to tweak layout, designs, etc. They will also
discuss applying before and after data collection as part of permanent
installations to understand user experience, user understanding of new
technologies and apply those lessons learned to future design projects. The
City of Calgary will present and discuss their Center City Cycle Track
Network Pilot.
*Presentation Panel:*
- Jennifer Boldry, People for Bikes
- Rick Plenge, P.E., PTOE - HDR
- Dan Raine, Denver, CO
- Ryan Martinson, Stantec (Calgary)
- Katherine Glowacz, City of Calgary
Thrilled to be a part of the team working on the City of Winnipeg's West
Alexander to East Exchange Corridor project. As bike week approached's you
will all get a chance to provide some feedback on the proposed design
options at a number of events. Details are on the Bike Week event page, but
I have pasted them below as well.
Hope to see a few of you on the bike ride :)
-
*June 20 - 11:00am-1:30pm - City of Winnipeg Public Engagement and Pop-up
Protected Bike Lane*
As part of the *West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*, the City of
Winnipeg is looking at options to improve the existing painted bike lanes
on McDermot Avenue and Bannatyne Avenue to protected infrastructure so that
they are comfortable for people of all ages and abilities.
The city is looking to continue the conversation and get input on proposed
design options. The public engagement on this project began back in
February 2017 and has documented input from stakeholders.
The event will take place at Hugh John MacDonald School, 567 Bannatyne Ave.
starting at 11:00 am. Come experience a pop-up protected bike lane
demonstrating a potential design option and provide feedback.
Attend the June 20, 2017 pop-up to win a free bike! (Bike provided by Hugh
John MacDonald School and the WRENCH)
For more information visit the website
<http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…>
.
*June 21 - 10:00am-2:00pm - City of Winnipeg Public Engagement and Pop-up
Protected Bike Lane *
As part of the *West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*, the City of
Winnipeg is looking at options to improve the existing painted bike lanes
on McDermot Avenue and Bannatyne Avenue to protected infrastructure so that
they are comfortable for people of all ages and abilities.
The city is looking to continue the conversation and get input on proposed
design options. The public engagement on this project began back in
February 2017 and has documented input from stakeholders.
The event will take place at at Old Market Square, Exchange District.
starting at 10:00 am. Come experience a pop-up protected bike lane
demonstrating a potential design option and provide feedback.
For more information visit the website
<http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…>
.
*June 21 - 12:00pm-12:45pm - Lunch Hour tour of the Exchange District
Pop-up Bike Lanes*
Join other interested cyclists at Old Market Square for a lunch hour ride
to explore and discuss proposed design options for the
pop-up protected bike lanes in the Exchange District. Take part in the ride
and join the conversation and experience options to improve the existing
painted bike lanes on McDermot and Bannatyne.
This ride is part of the City of Winnipeg’s public engagement for the *West
Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*. Join us at Old Market Square, the
ride leaves at 12:00pm and will return by 12:30pm with some time for
discussion before you head back to work.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Happy Commuter Challenge
week to all :)
--
*Shoni Madden* | Active and Safe Routes to School
Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/>
3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3773 | Find us here
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living.
Support our work by becoming a member
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at
CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>
* Please note that my regular office hours are Monday/Friday. I will
respond to your communication at this time.